1 Debt ceiling: Government officials on Saturday ruled out minting a coin worth $1 trillion to pay the government's bills and avoid a nasty battle with Congress over the debt ceiling. Some of President Obama's liberal allies had been promoting the obscure coin strategy, but the Treasury Department ruled out the unusual - some say absurd - option. By late February or early March, the Treasury Department will run out of ways to cover debts and could begin defaulting on government loans unless the debt limit is raised.

2Newtown shooting: Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading an administration review of gun safety laws, has offered to talk with families of the Connecticut elementary school shooting victims who would like to speak with him personally, a support group said Saturday. The group, Sandy Hook Promise, has been working to help the families whose loved ones were killed in the Dec. 14 massacre.

3 Flu outbreak: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a public health emergency Saturday because of the severity of the flu season. His order suspends a state law that allows pharmacists to administer immunizing agents only to adults. Almost 20,000 cases of influenza have been reported in the state this season, about four times more than were reported all of last season. Boston also has declared a public health emergency.

4 River shipping: Crews have removed bedrock that threatened barges along a crucial stretch of the drought-starved Mississippi River, staving off the shipping industry's fears that the channel could close to traffic, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Saturday. Using excavators and explosives, contractors cleared limestone and added two feet of depth to the channel near Thebes, Ill. The corps also has released water from lakes into the Mississippi to raise the river in recent weeks, trying to blunt the effects of the worst U.S. drought in decades.

5 Python hunt: Nearly 800 people have signed up to hunt Burmese pythons on public lands in Florida. The state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is holding a month-long "Python Challenge" that started Saturday to help rid the Everglades of the invaders. The snakes, which became established in the Everglades through the exotic pet trade, are blamed for decimating native wildlife.

6 "Death Star" veto: A "Star Wars"-style "Death Star" won't be a part of the U.S. military's arsenal any time soon. More than 34,000 people signed an online petition calling on the Obama administration to build the spaced-based superweapon to spur job growth and bolster national defense. Under current policy, the White House answers any appeal that attracts more than 25,000 signatures. In a tongue-in-cheek response posted Friday, Paul Shawcross, an administration adviser on science and space, rejected the idea, citing cost - an estimated $850 quadrillion - and policy. "We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it," he said. "The administration does not support blowing up planets."